Babysitter
by CountryGrl
Summary: What do you do when you're babysitting three little horrors? What do you do when one of them goes missing? My second MITM fic, I just enjoyed writing the first one so much! Please R&R :D COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I only finished Julie's Back like 2 days ago, lol, but I've been wanting to write something like this for ages, so here goes, my 2nd fic :) Please R&R even if you think it's rubbish! **

**Chapter** **One**

**Babysitter**

I don't know whether you've ever tried babysitting, but if you haven't, don't.

You think it's going to be so easy - three sweet little kids with angel faces, their mom says they're little horrors but you just can't believe it cos they're just sitting there watching tv, quiet as mice.

And then before you know it you find yourself stuck halfway up a tree.

I'll try to explain how I got here.

I started babysitting for two main reasons: 1) I was broke, and 2) I hated it. So when my mom's friend Lois called up and asked if I could spare an evening to watch her three sons, I was like ''Yeah, sure!''

So I arrived at the house at 5 o'clock, and was introduced to three angelic little boys: Reese, 12, Malcolm, 10, and Dewey, 6. They were just sitting there watching cartoons, I figured they'd be no trouble at all.

Then their mom left, and they started fighting.

I don't know how it started, they were all yelling and hitting each other; it was madness.

''Guys, guys!'' I shouted above the chaos. ''Stop fighting!''

Then before I knew it, the little one, Dewey, was flying backwards across the room, and he hit his head with a loud ''crack'' on the side of the coffee table.

The other two stopped in their tracks, frozen in that split second before the pain kicked in and their little brother started screaming.

I ran over. ''Dewey, Dewey, it's okay,'' I said, trying to stay calm, ''Let me see your head. Sit up.''

He was still screaming hard, though I wasn't sure how much of it was actual pain and how much was just shock. As far as I could see there was no blood.

''Just try to calm down, sweetie,'' I said, ''You're not bleeding, you're just gonna have a nasty bump. It's okay.''

He'd stopped screaming now but his breath was coming out in short, fast sobs. I picked him up and carried him over to the couch.

''Way to go, moron,'' said Malcolm to Reese.

''That wasn't my fault, it was you!'' Reese exclaimed.

''No it wasn't, you hit him and he fell backwards, no way was that my fault,'' said Malcolm.

''Guys, you're not helping by fighting with each other,'' I said. Dewey had more or less calmed down now. He was curled up next to me on the couch, still sniffling a bit, his head resting on my shoulder.

''He started it,'' said Reese sulkily.

''Right now I don't care,'' I said wearily. ''Just go and do some homework or something.''

Reluctantly they left, walked to their room. I looked down at Dewey. ''Want me to read you a story?'' He nodded. ''Stay there,'' I said, ''I'll go get one from your room.''

I got up and followed Reese and Malcolm. ''Is he okay?'' Malcolm asked, looking a little guilty, as I entered the bedroom they shared.

''I think so,'' I said, searching along the bookshelf for a book I thought Dewey would like. ''He's not really that hurt, it was the shock more than anything.''

Malcolm looked relieved. Reese just snorted in disgust. ''What a baby.''

''Shut up, Reese,'' said Malcolm.

''Will you two stop arguing?'' I said. ''Which books does Dewey like, all these have titles I can't even understand.''

''They're Malcolm's geek books, cos he's a geek,'' said Reese.

Malcolm ignored him. ''Wilbur the Worried Worm's his favorite,'' he told me, ''It's over there,'' he added, pointing.

''Thanks, Malcolm,'' I said, picking up the book. I left the room, went into the living room, expecting to see Dewey on the couch where I'd left him, but he was gone.

Oh, darn.

''Dewey!'' I called, hoping he'd just gone to the bathroom or something. ''Dewey, sweetie, where are you?''

No answer.

''Dewey, are you hiding somewhere? If you are we can play hide-and-seek, just shout to let me know you're still here!''

Still nothing.

Malcolm and Reese came out of the bedroom.

''He's gone,'' I said, trying not to panic. ''I left him sitting on the couch!''

''He's probably just hiding,'' Malcolm said, though he looked as worried as I felt.

We started searching the house, literally everywhere - even in places I didn't think he'd fit, like under the sofa and inside the washing machine - ''Oh, he fits in there alright,'' Reese assured me. ''We found that out a long time ago.''

I decided not to pursue that one.

''Where could he be?'' I said, once we were sure we'd explored every inch of the house and back yard. Reese and I were standing in the kitchen, Malcolm had wandered a little way away.

''Um, guys?'' he said.

''What is it?'' I asked.

''The front door's half open,'' he said, ''And Dewey's school shoes are gone.''

''Oh, fantastic,'' I groaned.

''So what do we do now?'' Reese asked me.

I shrugged. ''We'll have to go look for him I guess.''

.................

''We've been looking for _hours_,'' Reese groaned, ''He can't have got this far!''

''If he's ahead of us, he could be anywhere,'' said Malcolm practically, ''and it's only been _one _hour.''

''Are you sure there's nowhere else he could have gone?'' I asked them.

Malcolm thought for a moment. ''Not unless he tried to get to the kiddies' park.''

Reese shook his head. ''No way, he'd have to cross a huge road to get there.''

We all looked at each other.

I sighed. ''This just keeps getting better and better.''


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you Sydney Mechelle, LTJM and Pirate-chan for your reviews! I was going to give her a name...but I couldn't think of a good one...but you'll be pleased to know you find out her name in the next chapter (thanks to Sydney Mechelle!)**

**I realised I forgot to disclaim my first chapter. So..... DISCLAIMER: I don't own Malcolm in the Middle (sigh.) but I do own the plot and... The girl who's name you'll find out soon. **

**Enjoy!**

**...........**

**Chapter** **Two**

**Where** **is** **He**?

The kiddies' park was half a mile away; we were using up precious time on the gamble that he'd even be there, but Malcolm and Reese seemed pretty sure it was the most likely place.

Although I was worried about losing a kid on my first babysitting job, that was nothing compared to how Reese and Malcolm were freaking out.

''This is our fault, what if he gets squashed by a car? He'll be dead in under a second if it hits him at anything above 30 miles per hour,'' Malcolm babbled.

''Shut up, shut up, shut up,'' said Reese over and over again, putting his hands over his ears and staring straight ahead.

I put an arm around each of them. ''Just try not to think about it. I'm sure Dewey's fine.''

''But what if he isn't? There's loads of places he could be, it's gonna get dark in an hour or two, he could be hurt or kidnapped or...anything!''

I could see Malcolm was close to tears. ''Just try to think positive. We'll do our best to find him, that's what's important.''

''Do you think it's my fault he ran away?'' asked Reese.

I shook my head. ''I don't think so, Reese. Maybe he's just trying to scare us.''

''I'll never forgive myself if he's dead,'' said Malcolm.

''Me neither,'' Reese added.

''He's going to be fine,'' I said, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. We were coming to the highway crossing.

''Be careful,'' I said warningly as we made our way across.

''Dewey wouldn't have known, he would have just ran out into the road and got flattened,'' Malcolm said miserably.

''Stop thinking like that,'' I said. I could see the big sign above the park gate now. ''Look, we're nearly there.''

The kiddies' park was quite big, but practically empty. A quick scan of the play area and games field showed no sign of Dewey in his bright blue sweater.

''I can't see him anywhere,'' Malcolm said.

''Me neither. Maybe we should split up and search, just to make sure.''

Malcolm and Reese nodded, and we ran off in different directions, calling Dewey's name.

Still nothing. It was starting to get cold, I didn't have a watch but I guessed it was nearly 7. If we didn't find him soon we'd be searching in the dark.

''DYLAN!''

I turned to see someone running towards me; it was Reese. (And yes, Dylan is my name. I meant to mention it before but... I guess I forgot. But anyways.)

''What's the matter?''

''I found this!'' he said, holding up a piece of blue material, the exact same colour as Dewey's sweater. ''It was caught on a bush, it's Dewey's I know it is, and...''

He trailed off. Now he looked like he was about to cry. I gave him a hug. ''It's okay, Reese, I'm sure that's a good sign. At least we know he was here.''

Malcolm came running over. ''Did you find anything?''

''Yeah,'' I said, pulling away from Reese. ''This.''

Reese held out the material.

''Oh my gosh,'' Malcolm said. ''That's from Dewey's sweater.''

''He's been kidnapped,'' said Reese miserably, ''or eaten by a wild animal.''

''Right, genius,'' Malcolm said sarcastically. ''I'm sure there are loads of wild animals around here.''

''...Which isn't important,'' I said quickly before Reese could start an argument. ''The important thing is we know Dewey's here. We're close.''

''So we keep looking?''

''Yeah.''

We split up again.

''DEWEY!'' I called. ''DEWEY! Can you hear me?''

............

Finally we met up again, our voices hoarse from yelling so loud.

''It's useless,'' said Malcolm as we sat down on a bench. ''He's not here.''

''I think if we tried--'' I started but Reese cut me off.

''What's the point?'' he said angrily. ''We're never gonna find him, he's our little brother and we're never gonna see him again, and...''

''Reese, shut up!'' said Malcolm suddenly.

Reese ignored him. ''If we didn't fight all the time this wouldn't have happened, why are we so stupid--''

''No, really, shut up,'' said Malcolm. Reese stopped. We were both looking at Malcolm now.

''I thought I heard...''

''What? What did you hear?''

''Shush!''

I could hear something too. A voice, coming from above our heads somewhere.

''...and then they killed the alien monster and they were home just in time for dinner, which was good because...''

''That's Dewey!'' Malcolm said, standing up quickly. ''Dylan, Reese, it's Dewey!''

''But where is he?'' I said, looking up to where I thought the voice was coming from.

''He must be up a tree!'' Malcolm exclaimed. Sure enough there was a huge maple tree right near our bench, the lower branches spread out enough to climb but the upper half covered in thick leafage we couldn't see through.

We all went to stand underneath the tree. ''Dewey!'' I yelled. ''Are you up there?''

There was a pause, and then, ''No.''

I craned my neck, trying to see him, but I couldn't. ''Are you stuck?''

''Yes.''

''Perfect,'' I muttered. ''Okay,'' I called, ''I'm coming up, don't worry, just stay where you are.''

I began to climb upwards. I haven't climbed many trees but this one seemed pretty easy. (I know what you're thinking, why climb a tree to help someone who's stuck when you could get stuck yourself? But I had a plan: I'd only climb high enough to see where Dewey was, then I'd talk him through how to get down step by step. You see, I'm not completely mad.)

I guess I was about three or four metres above ground when the leaves cleared enough for me to see Dewey. He was perched on a sturdy branch not too far above me, but how he'd got there I had no idea; there were no branches close enough for him to have stood on.

''How did you get up there?'' I asked.

''I don't know,'' he replied.

''Well, that's helpful,'' I said. ''Can you see how to get down?''

''Nope.''

''Hmm. This could be tricky.''

''I'm scared.''

''Don't be. We'll have you down in a minute or two, just don't let go of that branch.''

Just then I became aware of a creaking, cracking sound beneath my feet.

The not-so-sturdy-after-all branch I was standing on was about to break.

All I could think was, ''Argh.''

I had to think fast - I pushed myself up onto the branch above and sat on it (this one was a lot thicker thank goodness) just as the first branch snapped.

Leaving a gap of about 2 metres between me and the next lowest branch.

Which is where I am now. Stuck half-way up a tree. Hiya.


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally, chapter 3! I really hate my phone at the moment, it deleted this whole chapter so I had to write it again from what I could remember, and not as well in my opinion. So this is probably my least favourite chapter so far. Ah well! Thanks to Sydney Mechelle for reviewing again and also LTJM (though maybe YOU should spend less time reading my drabble and more time writing YOUR GREAT STORY? Hmm?) Anyways, on with the, er, chapter.....**

**.**

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**Chapter** **Three**

**Help**!

So, what to do now?

''Dylan?''

That's Malcolm, he sounds worryingly quite far away.

''Yeah?''

''Are you okay? A branch fell down, and...''

''Yeah, I'm fine, just, a little stuck. Well, a lot stuck really.''

It's starting to get a little uncomfortable up here, but I daren't move. It's not that I'm scared of heights, its just I don't really fancy falling to my death from a maple tree. I don't tend to dwell much on how I'm going to die, but this is most definitely _not _how I'd imagined the end of it all.

But maybe I'm overreacting. Malcolm's talking again.

''What should we do?''

And this from the smart one.

''Well...something would be good.''

''Okay, I've got an idea,'' he says after a pause. ''Reese, come on...''

And they're gone.

I look up at Dewey, he's looking back at me. ''I'm sorry,'' he says.

''For what?'' For a moment, slightly stunned by the weirdness of this situation, I've forgotten how I got here.

''For running away.''

''Oh, Dewey, it's okay. I'm just glad we found you, we were worried sick.''

''We?''

''Your brothers too.''

''Really?''

''Yeah, of course. They were worried about you. Scared. They thought you'd been run over.''

''But they don't like me.''

Have you ever been in the situation where you have a desparate need to give a particular person a hug cos they look like they need one but you physically can't? (Like if doing so might send you both toppling out of a tree?)

Well, that's how it is for me right at this moment. In my head, I am going, ''AAAAAAAWWWWW.''

''They might be bad at showing it, Dewey, but they don't hate you. They're your brothers.''

He doesn't reply for a moment.

''Then why did they break my Mighty Man?''

''Because they're idiots. But that doesn't mean they don't love you.''

''How do you know?''

''I just do.'' Please let Malcolm and Reese come back soon, and let them have done something smart! It's getting cold now, we're both shivering. Plus something is sticking in to my butt. Sorry about that detail, but I am acutely aware of it right now.

''Dylan? Dewey?'' Malcolm calls. I've never been quite so pleased to hear someone's voice. ''Yeah?'' I call back. ''We haven't gone anywhere!''

''We've got a rope,'' he shouts up, ''a long one. Reese is going to climb up and throw it to you, then all you have to do is catch it and tie it to the nearest branch and lower yourselves down.''

I'm so happy he's thought of something I'm not even thinking about the millions of ways it could go wrong. ''You're brilliant!'' I yell down at him.

''Thanks,'' he says modestly. ''Okay, Reese is coming up now.''

A few moments later I can see Reese a few branches below us. He's holding what's hopefully a long and very strong rope.

''Where did you find that?'' I yell as he throws it up to me. I miss.

''It was tied round the gate,'' he says as he tries again. I miss again. (I know, I know. I suck at everything remotely sport-related, including catching, except long-distance running which isn't going to help me out right now.) ''Malcolm remembered seeing it on the way in.''

''Thank goodness for that.''

He throws it a third time and this time, I manage to catch it. I tie it around the branch above me, the one sort of between me and Dewey, hoping I'm remembering the right sort of knot which will hold while we climb down.

''C'mon Dewey, you can go first,'' I say encouragingly. He doesn't look convinced.

''What if it breaks?''

Good question. ''It won't,'' I reply, ''Just take it slow.''

Gingerly he edges along his branch and takes hold of the rope. ''Wrap your arms and legs around it,'' I tell him and he does so.

Slowly he lowers himself down. ''Okay!'' Malcolm yells up, ''Dylan! Your turn!''

Well, I guess I'd better go. Please let the rope be strong enough for my bulk! I'm not a walrus, but neither am I a hummingbird.....


	4. Chapter 4

**So, first off, I need to apologise for this **_**ridiculously**_** late chapter. It's been months since I updated this story, and it's been months since I started this chapter. I'm a bad bad person. *hangs head in shame*. **

**I also need to apologise for the fact that this chapter is very weak. But I really need to wrap this one up, there's a lot going on at the moment, and I had four uncompleted fics, it was making my head spin.**

**Disclaimer: I own Dylan but Sydney Mechelle owns her name. Linwood Boomer owns everything else, but the plot, such as it is, is mine.**

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.

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I don't know if you've ever tried baby-sitting, but if you haven't, do! It's actually not so bad after all.

It's nine o'clock and Dewey's gone to bed. I should really be telling the other two to go too, but I'm letting them stay up a bit later, since they did, you know, save my life and all.

I was supposed to give them dinner, but in the end we ordered pizza, since we didn't get back til 8. Dewey was practically falling asleep even as he was eating. I wasn't surprised, I mean he's only six and it's been a long day.

It was so funny, watching the other two, after me and Dewey got down from the tree. I mean, after I finished telling them how wonderful they were for rescuing us and nearly crushing the breath out of them both in a three-way hug.

Dewey said to us all, really solemnly, ''I'm sorry for running away and making you all worried.''

Malcolm and Reese both started to go a little red. ''We weren't worried,'' said Malcolm hurriedly.

''Yeah,'' said Reese, ''It was only Dylan who was worried really.''

I nearly choked, trying not to laugh, ''Yeah, right.''

Malcolm tried to look cool. ''It's not like we were scared what could have happened, I mean, why would we be? You're just our stupid kid brother.''

Dewey shot me a questioning look. I rolled my eyes. ''Sure, Malcolm,'' I said, as we turned to leave the park. ''Sure he is.''

All the way home they tried to convince us they hadn't been worried at all. Finally, Dewey said, quite firmly, ''We get it.''

When we reached the house, before we went inside, I made them all stop and look at me. ''Guys,'' I said, ''I really enjoyed being your babysitter, despite of everything. But you realise that I'll never be able to come back if your mom finds out about this. So you gotta keep quiet, yeah?''

Dewey put a finger to his lips and nodded seriously. ''We promise,'' said Malcolm.

''Well, duh,'' said Reese, ''you're, like, the best babysitter we've ever had.''

That was a little unexpected. ''Aww, thanks Reese,'' I said after a second, opening the door so we could all step inside. ''Now, who's for pizza?''

...Which sort of brings me back to where we are now. And - oh shoot - is that Lois' car pulling into the drive?

''Guys, quick, bed!'' I hiss at them, ''your mom's back!''

They both scarper, and I quickly collect up the remains of our pizza and its box, and stuff it in the bin, just as Lois enters the house.

''Dylan! How did it go? How bad were they?'' she asks, reaching the kitchen. ''Did they drive you insane?''

''Uh, no,'' I stammer, ''they were fine.'' Well, it's only half a lie.

''Really?'' she looks surprised. ''Oh.''

''Honestly, they were no trouble. In fact I'll be glad to babysit again...if, you know, you need me.''

''You know it's funny you should say that... Hal and I have to be out late again next Friday. How about it?''

''Sure.''

Oh great. _What _did I just do?

* * *

**Okay, so that's it, people! I know, it's kind of a lame ending, but you have NO idea how hectic my life is right now. I'd just like to thank all my reviewers, you are all wonderful wonderful people. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. **

**Well…that's all from me!**

**:D Joni **


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